


Songs I Can't Listen To

by Winterose



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: FrostIron - Freeform, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 11:52:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15048365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterose/pseuds/Winterose
Summary: This is a story of how an accident can sometimes bring together two broken hearts that beat with the same rhythm.~*~“I wish the music didn’t play forever, ‘cause I’m feeling like a broken record, and it’s all because of you, I’ve got a list of songs I can’t listen to.”(Quote: "Songs I Can't Listen To" by Neon Trees)





	1. Safe and Sound

**Author's Note:**

> Sources for the quotes can be found at the end of each chapter. I recommend checking the songs through as well. :)

> _“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I will be safe and sound.”_

 

“Pepper?” Tony called, staring at the papers in his hand. “Pepper, did you check these documents through?”

“For the fifth time today, yes”, Pepper smiled and closed her jacket. “Are you sure you aren’t nervous about the conference?”

“Nervous? Me?” Tony laughed, clearly nervous. “I’m never nervous. May I have a shot before we leave?”

Pepper sighed.

“No, you cannot. We’ll need to leave in five minutes, or you’ll be late to the opening ceremony.”

“No one will notice if we arrive five minutes late”, Tony mumbled and followed Pepper to the elevator. “They won’t even notice if I never arrive. I could cancel my speech.”

“Tony, is something wrong?” Pepper knit her eyebrows. “This is not like you. I know you’re antisocial and cynical, but you are also extremely ambitious and this is your chance to gain a huge audience for your…”

“I know that I’m awesome, but I have a serious headache today”, Tony murmured. “Do you mind if I sleep in the back? Jarvis can keep you company until we reach Philadelphia.”

Pepper looked at him, both annoyed and amused at the same time.

“Whatever, mister awesome”, she answered and walked out of the elevator, grabbing the car keys from Tony’s hand.

~*~

“I should be going to the stage soon”, Tony huffed air out of his lungs and straightened his tie.

“Relax”, Pepper smiled and straightened the tie for him. “It will be fine. Imagine that you’re talking to me. You don’t have much problems with telling me about all the tech stuff I can’t even understand.”

“I’m not really worried about the speech”, Tony put on his sunglasses. “I’m just sick of dealing with people and their stupid questions that come after I’ve spoken.”

“Relax”, Pepper repeated and took Tony’s sunglasses off, putting them to her own pocket. “Imagine it’s me asking those questions. I will be in the front row through the whole conference. You can easily see me and speak to me even then.”

“Have you ever been on a stage?” Tony snorted. “Do you know how bright those lights are? There’s not much I can see from there. Only blurred human shapes somewhere far in front of me.”

“Well then, what you can’t see, can’t harm you either”, Pepper shrugged.

“Yet another lie I would correct in a better time and place”, Tony grinned, “but I guess we should sit down instead and enjoy the speeches the best we can.”

~*~

The night air was clear and cool. Even in Philadelphia the streets were filled with people on a night like this. Tony and Pepper were walking towards a hotel they had booked for the night; even though Tony had requested on leaving right after the conference had ended, Pepper had convinced him on staying to the afterparty at a club especially reserved for the conference attendants.

“I still can’t believe you spoke me over to stay”, Tony murmured. “Drunk people are even more annoying than the sober ones. They have all the courage to prove me wrong, no matter how little do they know about what they are talking about.”

Pepper giggled.

“Well, drunk people _are_ different personalities than the sober ones”, she said, looking at Tony, mocking him. Tony snorted.

“Are you insulting me right there?”

“I might be. Gently.”

“Let’s play that I didn’t hear that, then.”

“I said it was gentle play.”

“Then let’s play I gently didn’t hear you say anything”, Tony stopped at the door of their hotel room. “I’ll go see the 24 hours store in the street corner. Want to join me or go ahead to the hotel room?”

“I think a hot shower calls for me”, Pepper smiled. “Don’t get lost.”

“Have I ever gotten lost on my way to a grocery store? Actually, don’t answer. I’ll be right back, safe and sound.”

Pepper smiled.

“I’ll see you in ten minutes. Safe and sound”, she waved her hand and walked in through the glass doors. Tony walked his way to the grocery store, whistling to himself. Not two minutes after he had entered the store filled a huge crashing sound the area, rumbling the ground beneath their feet.

“What the fuck?” Tony muttered, darting out of the store. A giant flying something had crushed two buildings pretty bad, making its way back up to the sky, screaming loudly. It flew off his eyesight, but the noise it made rang in his ears when he stared at the collapsed buildings.

“No, shit, no”, he murmured while sprinting towards the buildings. Horrified people were already all around the street, shouting and calling and filming the buildings.

 _Why the fuck do those people take pictures of this?_ Tony thought annoyed while making his way to the remainings of the hotel. _And why did I leave my suit to New York? I should never leave my tower without the suit. Am I a total retard._

“Pepper?” Tony shouted, though he felt himself even stupider doing so. Even if she was alive in that pile of concrete, she would never be able to answer him. Tony swore heard and looked around. Around the corner were the rescue personnel making their way to the collapsing spot.

 _“Please stay calm and give space to the rescue team. Stand back and do not spread the panic._ ”

“Yeah, sure”, Tony murmured and tapped messages on his phone. “Keep on telling them to stay calm, you sure will succeed. No panic to be seen.”

The rescue operation took ages. Tony knew the Avengers would be there for the alien flying above the city, and ordered Bruce to bring him the Iron Man suit. With his suit, Tony joined the rescue team and helped them empty the fallen buildings. The dead and injured seemed to never end. People crying, complaining, barely breathing filled the air with noises of sorrow and horror. Blood dirtied the hands of the rescue team, their clothes and faces. And even though they carried one after another out of the concrete prison, they always seemed to find someone else from the ruins.

Finally Tony found Pepper. His heart felt like stopping, when he lifted her in his arms and flew her to the street, where the first aid personnel were busy checking the conditions of everyone brought out of the ruins.

Tony opened his mask.

“Pepper?” he called quietly. Tony touched gently Pepper’s cheek with his iron glove. Pepper was pale, nearly white of her face, and the red of the blood made her look even paler.

“Is she..?” he whispered when a man dressed in the overalls of the emergency personnel came to feel her pulse. The man looked up at Tony, biting his lip clearly upset and shook his head.

“I’m sorry”, he quietly said.

“Don’t be”, Tony answered and hid his face with the Iron Man mask. “It’s not your fault.”

And he flew back to searching people from underneath the concrete, alive or not, bringing them back to the street lights. A raindrop fell from the sky, then another, and soon the sky bursted into a rainy cry above the stage of a sad play.

~*~

Pepper’s funeral were small. Tony stood in the back during the ceremony, in all black from dress shirt to tie. He had a lonely white flower in his hands, tied with a simple ribbon. It was a clear opposite compared to the dark wooden coffin Pepper was put in.

 _Dark coffin feels so wrong. A light one would have suited her better,_ Tony thought. He left the flower on top of the coffin, among the other flowers left by Pepper’s friends and family. It seemed to glow in the middle of the other flowers and memorial cards. Tony stared at the flower for the rest of the ceremony and when it ended, he walked away without saying a word to anyone else in the room.

Days passed. After Pepper’s funeral Tony was barely seen outside his tower. He kept on saying that he was busy, but no one had an answer with what. The truth was, that Tony had to drown himself in the work he could not finish with his head filled with thoughts and what-if-scenarios, and sorrow, pain and anger. He kept on going through the same details over and over and over again, still not figuring out what he should do next. And every day he finally drowned himself in a bottle of wine, whiskey or liquor instead of his work. He used to stand on the edge of his balcony, looking down to the street while drinking, until he felt too dizzy to stand and finally scrambled back inside, falling asleep in different places: on his couch, in his own bed, once even in the elevator.

 _What if I one day fell down from here?_ Tony thought, with a fresh bottle in his hand, looking down from the balcony. _No one would be there to catch me if I fell. How drunk should I be for it not to hurt?_

Tony drank from the bottle. He felt dizzy again, but didn’t care about it. _It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. I can’t do my job, I have no one waiting for me downstairs, I am not loved among people. I need my reason to live back._

A wave of dizziness made his feet fail under his weight. Tony felt someone grab him around the chest and carry further back from the edge of his balcony. When Tony opened his eyes, he saw a blurry shape of a man with pitch black hair and clothes of black leather with green and gold in harmony.

“You”, Tony murmured before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift (from The Hunger Games Soundtrack)


	2. Monster

> _ “He’s a wolf in disguise, but I can’t stop staring in those evil eyes.” _

 

Loki sat on the edge of Tony’s bed and looked at the man still asleep. It was early morning already, and shy rays of golden sunlight peeked through the curtains. None of them hit Loki’s face, though; his eyes were in the shadows, carefully analysing the Avenger in front of him.

_ People are the most beautiful in their sleep, so they say, _ Loki thought, tilting his head a bit to the side.  _ Sleeping people are interesting, though. What do they dream of? Gold? Fame? Love? And what is it that a man like you dreams of, Tony? You have gold and fame, and you had love until some time ago. _

A slight spike of guilt hit Loki. He knew that the suffering Tony was going through was all his fault.  _ How could I have known that Stark and that woman of hers were in Philadelphia that exact day? _ he thought, bitter for himself feeling guilty.  _ Besides bringing that Carmastoldonth to Earth was a pure accident. It was wilder than expected, and it’s easy to mix Phildangard to Philadelphia of Midgard.  _

Tony’s eyelids trembled and opened slowly. He looked around, confused and still with slightly blurry sight. His eyes locked on Loki as he slowly sat up on his bed.

“Loki?” he asked. Tony rubbed his eyes, trying to focus.

“Me, and nobody else”, Loki admitted, smirking. “Missed me?”

“How could I”, Tony spat. “Every time you appear on Earth, something bad happens. Was the attack of the monster in Philadelphia your doing as well?”

“You’re eager to find someone guilty”, Loki acted hurt. It wasn’t all lie, though; he felt slightly hurt by Tony’s tone. “Why are you so sure it was me?”

“No one else has ideas like that on this side of the universe”, Tony snorted. “Give me an honest answer, trickster. Was it you?”

Loki sat quiet in his place. He stared at Tony and met his eyes. They were now sharp and judging.

“It was an accident”, he finally stated. Tony’s face was filled with anger.

“You are truly an unthinking, heartless, cruel monster”, Tony’s voice was cold and bitter. His hand was reaching for a piece of his armor suit he kept close to his bed in case of super emergency situations. Loki saw that and grabbed Tony’s arm quickly under his hard press.

“Quite hard talk coming from someone I basically  _ saved _ last night”, Loki whispered.

“Who said I need saving?” Tony hissed back and tried to free his hand. “Let me go.”

“No”, Loki shook his head slowly, never taking his eyes off Tony’s. He stepped back, but before Tony could catch the piece to call for his armor, he was tied to his bed. Tony stared at the ropes around his body and looked up to Loki.

“You can’t keep me your hostage”, Tony said. Loki laughed.

“We’ll see about that when you’ve calmed down”, he answered and sat in the corner, on top of a drawer standing there. “I’ll wait until we can talk like decent men.”

~*~ 

Tony was clearly exhausted and uncomfortable. He tried to not show Loki his weakness, but Loki could still see the man was suffering not only mentally, but physically as well. 

“Hey, snakey”, Tony finally opened his mouth to speak more than muttering swear words. “Are you planning on killing me in my own bed, or can I get some food and water? Water first, please.”

Loki stared at Tony.

“Yes”, he answered shortly and left the room. Tony sighed and tried moving his hands. It felt odd. He couldn’t reach out of the bed, but if he tried, he could move his hands a bit. It felt better being able to change sitting position. Tony closed his eyes for a moment.

“Are you a sleep eater?” Loki’s voice startled Tony. He opened his eyes and looked at the paper bag and water bottle Loki had in his hands. 

“Did you just get me fast food?” Tony knit his eyebrows.

“You can starve if you don’t want it”, Loki dropped the bag and the bottle on Tony’s lap and snapped his fingers. The ropes dropped and freed Tony. “I took all your technical stuff away, so you don’t need those ropes anymore. You can’t fight me in this room.”

Tony sighed and grabbed the paper bag Loki had brought him. The food inside was still warm. Murmuring something that Loki didn’t care to hear, Tony started eating the food he had been given. Loki sat back on top of the drawer. A silence fell between the two.

Tony crushed the empty paper bag and threw the ball of paper to the corner of his bedroom. He looked at Loki, shrugging. “And now what?”

“Are you willing to listen to me?” Loki asked.

“Depends on your intentions.”

“I mean no harm to you. I just want to talk.”

Tony and Loki stared at each other. Loki seemed honest, his eyes were almost pleading for audience. Tony, however, was suspicious and didn’t even try to hide it in his eyes. For a reason, though; during the past years Loki had been a pain to the Avengers, and most of the time dishonest and unworthy. For a moment Loki was afraid Tony would never agree to listen to him.  _ He has truly no reason to trust me. I have brought nothing but pain to Midgard, and those rare moments I’ve been the good guy no one remembers or sees not heroic enough to pay back all the sorrow I’ve caused, _ Loki thought, sad and bitter.  _ For every bad thing happening you need seven good ones to lift your spirit. _

“I guess I have no other choice”, Tony finally said and leaned on the wall behind him. “I’m all ears.”

Loki nodded and looked away from Tony.

“You have no other choice, huh”, he said, smiling sadly. “Yeah. Let’s play so. I just want you to hear that I had no intentions on bringing that animal to Midgard. It was a mistake.”

“You don’t seem to do anything but mistakes”, Tony snorted. Loki laughed.

“Well, you ain’t wrong on that”, Loki agreed, meeting Tony’s eyes. “It seems that whatever I do, however good I am, I’m never good enough in the eyes of those, whose opinion matters to me.”

Tony was quiet.  _ Even a monster has feelings, _ he realized.  _ He’s not a monster in his own eyes. Just a misunderstood being. _

“I’m no hero”, Loki said, “but neither am I a villain. I’ve brought enough chaos to your lives. I’ve crossed the line several times. I’ll be gone once I’ve had you understand.”

“Right now I don’t understand at all”, Tony shook his head. “What’s the point in all this? We’ve fought with you. Against you, alone and together. We’ve beaten you, you’ve beaten some of us. We’ve fought to kill. And now you’ve come to save me, after you caused the death of hundreds of innocent people? What are you up to?”

“I want forgiveness”, Loki shouted. His eyes glimmered. “I want to pay back all the sorrow and hatred. I want you to understand that the pain comes both ways. I want to stop the fighting between us.”

Loki had a pause to breathe in. Tony sat in silence. When Loki continued speaking, he didn’t shout anymore. Instead he spoke with a cold soft voice, nearly trembling.

“You’ve seen the chaotic side of me. The powerful, crowd controlling me. The bad guy everyone hates and wishes to be dead. But that’s just one side of me, Tony. That’s not all of me. I have a heart, too.”

Loki stood up and looked straight at Tony’s eyes. His voice was filled with honesty and emotionality that Tony had never even thought Loki was capable to.

“I’m truly sorry about what happened in Philadelphia”, Loki said. “I never meant to hurt you by killing Pepper. I regret that mistake. It was not my biggest mistake, but I want to make it my last. I’m sorry.”

The silence that fell was thick. Loki looked at the floor, counting seconds.  _ I’m going to leave now, _ he thought, but couldn’t move his feet. Something kept him standing in that exact spot. He couldn’t leave like that. He had to give Tony a chance to answer him.

“Did you attend her funeral?”

Loki looked up.

“Yes. I followed you there and watched the funeral through from the shadows. I even stayed after you had left.”

Tony nodded.

“You have at least some decency”, he admitted. “Have you followed me since then?”

“More or less”, Loki shrugged, looked at Tony and added: “I’ve been looking after you since the accident in Philadelphia. I haven’t followed you to  _ every _ place but, you know. I’ve been nearby.”

“And you happened to see me fall?”

“Well, you didn’t actually fall, though it was quite close.. but yes. At that moment I was a few meters to your right, sitting on the edge of your balcony. It was the closest I’ve been to you during this time, and I was afraid you would sense my presence.”

“I have no such senses”, Tony snorted. “I’m just a rich man with powerful toys to play with.”

“Have you never felt like someone’s watching you? Like half of the people have that feeling sometimes”, Loki sounded surprised.

“Well, maybe. But I was drunk last night. Drunk people are less sensitive with all kinds of stuff”, Tony shrugged.

“I have never been that drunk”, Loki said, “so I know nothing about being drunk to the point of losing my shit.”

“Don’t you have alcohol in Asgard?”

“Of course we do. I just happen to be more rational than my party boy brother.”

Tony laughed.

“Well, that might be, in some way true”, Tony grinned. “You don’t seem like the type that gets wasted in the party. You’re more like a person who drinks home alone until you pass out.”

“I’m not that pathetic”, Loki sounded almost hurt. Tony raised an eyebrow.

“You think I’m pathetic?”

“I didn’t say so.”

“But you just stated that drinking home alone until you pass out is pathetic.”

“...oh shit.”

Tony laughed.

“You are an interesting person, Loki”, he said. Loki smirked.

“You see more in a person when you see all sides of them instead of one”, Loki reached out a hand to help Tony up from his bed. “Do you trust me now?”

Tony took the hand and got up, standing right next to Loki, with a slight smile on his lips and vigilant gaze studying Loki’s green eyes, saying: “Not a slightest bit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "Monster" by Lady Gaga


	3. Replica

> _ “They made me a heart of steel, the kind them bullets cannot see.” _

 

Days passed in the Stark tower. Tony made Loki a room in the same floor as his own bedroom was in, but a few doors further the corridor. Somehow the thought of sleeping with only one room between them made Tony feel uncomfortable, even though Loki laughed that if he wanted to come after Tony during the night, one wall was no different to three. 

“It’s called psychology”, Tony stated. “I feel safer this way and that’s enough.”

Loki just shrugged and accepted the room he was given. It was better than leaving. The room was great, the bed was wide and through the window Loki could see the city below. The windows on that floor were made of a mirror glass, so that you could see through it one way only.

_ It makes things easier, _ Loki thought, gazing through the window at the street.  _ I don’t need to be afraid of being seen. I’m not seen as a friend to this land, so it might bring us problems if I’m seen here.  _

“Loki, I’m gonna order some Chinese food. Do you eat that?” Tony’s voice rang through the door. Loki walked up to the door, opened it and leaning to the doorway he answered: “I’m so picky with my food it doesn’t matter asking me. Buy anything you want, I’ll try it.”

Tony smiled, chose the number and called to the Chinese restaurant. Not too long from that, Tony’s new part-time secretary brought the food to the top floor.

“Bon appetit”, Tony waved at the food after he had put it all on a table in front of the couch. Loki stared at all the packages and the two plates they were supposed to eat from.

“What are these?” Loki asked, knitting his eyebrows.

“There’s some rice”, Tony pointed at the biggest box. “There’s some chicken, that one has mushrooms and onions… there’s some noodle thing I’ve never tried before, but it sounded good when the chef described it. Then there’s one with beef and one with vegetables only. Choose whatever you want on your plate and eat.”

Loki took a plate in his hand and walked around the table.

“You gotta be brave with these”, Tony winked and took a bit of everything on his plate. “Taste a small amount from every box and then eat more of the ones you like the most.”

Seeing Loki taste the Chinese food was surprisingly hilarious. To think of him as a fierce godlike trickster did not quite fit the frame of the man sitting on the couch sniffing and licking the food on the tip of his fork. It was like following a foreigner go through a culture shock.

_ Well, isn’t that actually quite what is going on? _ Tony thought.  _ He’s not from here, so he’s a foreigner of a kind. Aliens are still foreigners, right? Or, well, can’t call him an alien either. But well, culture shock between the cultures of Asgard and Earth, or Midgard, however they call it. _

With a regular, black t-shirt with a green snake on it and dark jeans Loki looked like any normal man on Earth. Tony had taken him shopping some clothes, even though Loki had thought it stupid and needless. “I can change my clothes by will”, he muttered when he changed his look so that the people in the shops wouldn’t start screaming when they saw him. Tony had waved a hand at it and insisted on taking Loki shopping. It had been almost as hilarious as feeding different food types to him. Loki had been staring at the clothes, trying them on and finally choosing some comfortable and good looking ones just to amuse Tony.

_ When we’re like this, it doesn’t feel like he’s the chaotic man I’m used to fighting with, _ Tony thought and his mood dropped a bit.  _ It’s strange talking like this. It’s like nothing bad ever happened. It’s like he’s not the guilty for so many bad things… _

“Tony? What is it?”

It had taken a few days for Loki to use Tony’s first name normally, but now it came out of his mouth like nothing. Tony looked up at him.

“I was just thinking, that I used to eat like this with Pepper”, Tony whispered. “We ordered something up here and ate together, speaking of pretty much anything. Weather, TV series, travelling. Anything carefree.”

Tony gazed at the sky behind the window. Loki lowered his eyes to stare at his plate.

“I’m sorry”, he said again. He had lost the count on times he had said he’s sorry for Pepper. However proud he usually was, that was the one topic he couldn’t get through with just shrugging. He always ended up saying he’s sorry. Always. Because it was clearly bothering Tony, Loki couldn’t say anything else. He wasn’t good with sadness and negative emotions, even less with sympathy. 

That night Tony opened a new bottle of whiskey from underneath his bar corner. Loki sat on the couch, following Tony drink a glassful after another, getting soon drunk.

“Why are you drinking like that?” Loki asked, looking at the half-empty bottle on the table.

“I wann’ drown m’pain”, Tony mumbled. “I wann’ be me again.”

“Aren’t you you all the time?” Loki was confused.

“No”, Tony shook his head with the slow motion of a drunk person. “I’m justa replica. Likey a copy of... me. A replica of me.”

“I will never get used to your sayings”, Loki sighed. “Just like your drinking. I just don’t get it.”

“It’sa copin’ mechanism. Way to get through”, Tony mumbled. 

“A stupid way human beings deal with things”, Loki rolled his eyes. “Give me that bottle. It’s been enough.”

Loki grabbed the bottle. Tony reached for it, shouting clumsy words that he wasn’t drunk enough yet. Loki pushed Tony away and went to hide the bottle to the bar corner.

“I think it’s your time to go to sleep”, Loki said, looking at Tony, who half lay on the couch, reaching towards Loki and mumbling something about the bottom of the bottle. “You’ll meet the bottom some other day, but not at once.”

Loki helped Tony on his feet.

“You are heavier than you look like”, he muttered. “Can’t you walk properly on your own?”

Loki tried to leave Tony on his own feet, but the man just wobbled and almost fell down.

“Odin’s beard, you are impossible”, Loki swore and carried Tony to the elevator. “Human beings.. the most intelligent creatures on Earth… this planet really needs some alien intelligence to stay alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "Replica" by Sonata Arctica


	4. Photograph

> _ “If you hurt me, that’s okay, baby, only words bleed.” _

 

“Ugh, my head hurts”, Tony complained while sitting in the downstairs kitchen with some breakfast equipment on the table in front of him. Loki, who had been preparing a sandwich to himself, sighed and gave Tony a blaming look across the table.

“Do you still think drinking that much was a good idea?” Loki asked.

“Drinking a lot feels always better during the night than it does in the morning”, Tony muttered. “Do we have orange juice? Or coffee.”

“You already drank a cup of coffee.”

“And I need another one. And a big glass of orange juice.”

Loki gave the orange juice to Tony.

“You are unbelievable”, he mumbled as Tony grabbed the juice and filled his glass with it.

“A unbelievable genius”, Tony said and drank half of the juice on one go.

“Drunk you is no genius. More like a crybaby.”

“I’m not a crybaby when I’m drunk!”

“Closer to a child than a genius anyway.”

Tony pouted his lips.

“You are mean”, he complained. “It’s normal to act different when you are drunk. You should try sometime. Maybe you would be actually nice for once.”

Tony met Loki’s eyes and hid his face in his palms.

“That was mean of me. I’m sorry, Loki”, he quietly said. “You were actually nice last night for taking care of me and dragging me to bed.”

“You call me cruel, but you could be my mirror image sometimes”, Loki snorted. “You ain’t really better than me.”

“I guess you’re right”, Tony admitted and drank the rest of his juice. “Gosh, it hurts. I’m going to get some painkillers before I get to work. I’ll be at my workshop, if you need me.”

Tony left the kitchen after he had filled his cup with coffee again. Loki sat there alone, crunching the bread he had found to be the best and closest to the ones in Asgard. It was not the same, of course, but the best Midgardian markets had.

_ Things I’ll have to get used to, if I plan on staying here with Tony and living like the local people do, _ Loki thought, looking at the bread in his hand.  _ The food they eat, the clothes they wear on their free time… and the habits they have. Who by Odin’s beard drinks that black liquid they call coffee? It’s gross. _

~*~

Tony worked late. He stood in front of the gigantic screen he had in his workshop and moved squares and texts and pictures from side to side, writing and calculating things all the time. He was really focused on his work and didn’t hear Loki enter the workshop. Loki looked around while walking between the tables and screens. Screens had drafts and numbers all around, and the tables were filled with prototypes, metal pieces, boxes with wires and batteries, tools and spare bolts.

“Stark industries”, Loki murmured while reading the top corner of one of the screens. Every prototype and screen had the Stark industries’ logo somewhere to be seen. 

Tony peeked over his shoulder.

“I didn’t hear you come in”, he said, surprised. 

“You were so concentrated”, Loki noted. “Have you looked at the clock?”

Tony had a look at his watch.

“Oh”, he just let out. He quickly threw one of the drafts on the screen to the side, put it in a hibernate state and walked out of the workshop with Loki.

“Are you hungry?” Tony asked.

“Not really. But if you are, we can go get something.”

“Nah, I’m good. I think I just need some tea. My throat feels a bit sore, I want to make sure it won’t get any worse.”

Tony made them some tea with honey to drink. They went into another living room styled room instead of the top floor of the building. This room had a couch as well, but also some bookshelves, a television and a DVD-player. It was actually a home theater that Tony had modified slightly to make it better. 

They sat on the couch, sipping of their tea cups, not saying a word. Loki wasn’t quite sure if he liked the tea or not, but he drank it anyway. 

“We could take a picture together”, Tony suddenly said and got up on his feet. He had seen his polaroid camera on the shelf and went to get it. He had put a small mirror on it, so that taking a photo of self was easier. The mirror could be pressed inside the camera when not in use, so it looked like a regular polaroid camera, if the mirror wasn’t out.

“A picture?” Loki knit his eyebrows.

“Yes. A photograph”, Tony explained. “Have you never seen a camera before?”

“Of course I have”, Loki laughed. “I’m not new to human technology, even though I’m not from here. People use cameras all the time. They film everything as if it would be any better to see all the things through the lens and pictures than live.”

“Well, that might be true”, Tony shrugged. “People nowadays are so obsessed with all the electrony they have. But I like this polaroid camera more. It prints the picture right when it’s taken, and it’s a nice little memory to have. It fits your pockets, for example. Or a wallet.”

“Why would I carry someone’s photograph in my pocket?”

“People tend to have pictures of their loved ones in their wallets”, Tony explained. “It’s, like, holding them close to you all the time.”

“And why do you want a photograph with me?” Loki asked. Tony stared at him.

“I just thought it might be fun”, he said, looking at the camera. “I have these polaroid pictures with many of my friends. I keep them on the wall of my game room.”

“You have a game room? Like, for playing those, video games?”

“Yes”, Tony nodded. “I happen to enjoy the video games when I’m not working. It’s not a shame.”

“Of course it’s not”, Loki smirked. “Who wouldn’t like games?”

Tony blinked.

“I hope that doesn’t mean you’re planning on playing some tricky and dangerous game with me right now.”

Loki laughed.

“No”, he promised. “Now come here with that camera.”

When Tony sat on the couch and aimed for them to fit the picture properly, Loki added: “Take one for me as well.”

Tony smiled and pressed the button. A click, and the picture came out of the camera. Tony grabbed the picture, waved it in the air and put it aside.

“Then another one”, he said and pressed again.

“Take one more”, Loki suggested. Confused, Tony aimed for them again. Loki leaned his head on Tony’s shoulder, smirking to the camera. Tony blushed lightly, and accidentally pressed the button.

“Well, that’s going to be a weird one”, he murmured, waving the picture in his hand. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Lean on my shoulder.”

“Oh. I don’t know, I felt like doing so.”

Tony turned his face and met Loki’s eyes. Loki smirked.

“Which picture you want?” Tony asked, turning his eyes away and collecting all three pictures in his hands. Loki chose the second picture, where they just sat next to each others.

“You don’t want the leaning one?” Tony asked, waving the picture in front of Loki’s face.

“No, you can keep it”, Loki answered, still smirking. “So you can keep me in your pocket. You look so embarrassed in that one.”

Loki laughed at Tony pouting his lips. Tony stared at the picture in his hands.

“We look like a couple in this one”, he finally said. “We aren’t dating, are we?”

Tony turned to look at Loki again. For a moment they just stared at each other, until Loki leaned forward and lips almost touching Tony’s lips he whispered: “So far as I know, no. But what do I know of you Midgardians.. we could.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "Photograph" by Ed Sheeran


	5. Casual Affair

> _ “Break involuntary ties, a secret so the spies could never find us out.” _

 

“No, Loki, it’s too dangerous. You can’t show yourself, even transformed, when Natasha and Banner are coming here”, Tony repeated for the hundredth time that morning.

“Relax, Tony, they will never see through me”, Loki tried to convince him. “They have no special powers, you said so yourself.”

“Besides, Ilok is way too obvious a name”, Tony stated. “They will get it instantly. They are both smart. They are no kids you can play with so easily.”

“Then Valkyria?” Loki suggested. “Come on, it will be fun. Let me have fun for once.”

“And what would you be to me? A casual affair? One night stand?” Tony rolled his eyes. “They wouldn’t believe that.”

“You’re a rich man. You could have one night stands with anyone”, Loki waved in the air. “Besides, who says I’d need to be your date? I could be a business partner or an assistant as well.”

“I never hire extra assistants if I don’t have a special need for them and you don’t know enough to act my business partner.”

“Have you always been this dull?”

“I’m not dull, I’m stressed that they’ll find out I have a criminal living under my roof”, Tony screeched his teeth together. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what to say of you. You’ve done some terrible things and even though I know you can do better, I’m not sure if I can convince them quick enough so that you don’t tear half of my tower to the ground.”

Loki sighed.

“I’ll be careful and I’ll make sure my story is believable”, he said.

“No”, Tony shook his head. “You will stay in your room until they are gone.”

“Are you trying to cage me?” Loki knit his eyebrows.

“No. I’m trying to protect you”, Tony whispered and left the room.

~*~

Natasha and Bruce came up to the workshop floor with an elevator. Bruce seemed uncomfortable as ever. Natasha said something to him as they walked through the corridor to meet Tony at his workshop.

“Oh, you’re already here”, Tony looked over his shoulder as the door opened behind him. “Come here, I’ll show you what you are going to take with you.”

Natasha and Bruce stood right behind Tony and followed when he showed them things on the screen. Bruce asked a couple of questions and made suggestions, and Tony answered to them with facts and expectations. Finally he gave Natasha a case that was sealed with a code lock.

“You remember the passcode?” Tony double checked. Both Natasha and Bruce nodded. “Good. Do you want something before you leave?”

“A glass of water, please”, Bruce said, smiling nervously. Tony nodded.

“Let’s get one from the kitchen”, he said and lead the two of them to the corridor and towards his kitchen.

“I actually wanted to ask you, how are you doing?” Natasha looked at Tony when they entered the elevator. “After what happened to Pepper, you’ve been distant to us. If there’s anything I can do to-”

“I’m fine, thank you”, Tony interrupted unnecessarily loud as the elevator stopped.

“Are you sure?” Natasha knit her eyebrows. “You’ve been pale and shutting yourself from everyone and everything for months now. You might be sick, not physically th-”

“I already said once that I’m  _ fine _ ”, Tony especially stressed the word  _ fine _ . “There’s nothing wrong with my mental health. I’ve had plenty of time to-”

Tony stopped right after he had entered the kitchen. Bruce and Natasha stopped after him, looking at the kitchen past him. In the middle of the kitchen stood a woman with a long, pitch black hair that almost reached her hips. She had a dark skirt almost reaching her knees, black fishnet tights and black shoes with some green jewels and broad high heels. Her light green dress shirt had its top buttons open so that it revealed the black choker she had around her neck, and the silver spider underneath it. Her green eyes caught the light magically when she turned to look at the people at the doorway.

“Oh, good afternoon mr. Stark”, she said with a surprised voice. She had a beautiful voice that rang nicely in the air. “I didn’t realize you would bring your guests to the kitchen. I’m truly sorry that I’m in the way.”

“That’s okay”, Natasha said, looking at Tony and the woman in turns. “I don’t think we have..?”

“No, you haven’t met yet”, Tony hurried to say. He coughed to his hand, trying to sound less surprised than he was.  _ Got to play along, now that we are here. Damn you, Loki. _ “This is Valkyria Ilok..son. She’s a new secretary trainee. I let her wait in the waiting room next door, but I believe she wanted some coffee?”

Tony met Loki’s eyes. His female body was distractingly good looking, but Tony could still recognize his eyes. Not that his male body wasn’t good looking as well, but the change was still taking Tony’s attention.  _ What is he doing? _

“Yes”, she smiled and nodded. “I wanted to learn to use the coffee makers mr. Stark has in his building, so I figured out the kitchen would be a good place to start. I didn’t think it would bother anyone.”

“It doesn’t”, Bruce murmured.

“Valkyria, now that you are here, would you bring mr. Banner a glass of water?” Tony said, trying to sound as if he was actually training “Valkyria” to be his assistant. The lady nodded and hurried to fill a glass. Her smile was sweet as she gave the glass to Bruce.

“You’re welcome, sir”, she said. Her voice was like a tinkle bell.

“T- thank you”, Bruce could barely speak and he hurried to drink the water.

“I’ll do my best to become a good secretary for mr. Stark”, she sounded excited. She peeked at Tony, and he could see the mock in Loki’s eyes.  _ Damn you and your jokes. _

“I believe you can find out yourself?” Tony asked when they walked to the elevator again.

“Yes, we do”, Natasha nodded and gave the kitchen door a quick look. “Thank you, Tony. See you soon.”

After Natasha and Bruce had left, and Tony had followed through the security cameras that they had actually left the whole building, he walked back to the kitchen. Instead of the young woman there stood now Loki in his dark jeans and a light green t-shirt in the same shade as “Valkyria’s” shirt had been. Loki smirked, but Tony was not as amused.

“You could have ruined it all!” he shouted. “If they had seen through you, we would be in great danger!”

“But they didn’t recognize me”, Loki pointed. “I was believable.”

“That jape of yours could get us both dead”, Tony hissed. 

“No. It could get me killed, but you would be unharmed. They would think you were under my spell.”

“And how would that make things any better?” Tony shook his head. “That risk you took was unnecessary and extremely stupid.”

“It was extremely fun”, Loki stressed the last word. “You’ll need to learn to relax, Tony.”

“How can I relax when you are making me afraid of losing you?” Tony stated bitterly and turned to leave the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "Casual Affair" by Panic! At the Disco


	6. Demons

> _ “I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you, but with the beast inside there’s nowhere we can hide.” _

 

Tony walked along the corridor with fast, pissed off steps.

“Don’t turn your back on me, Tony!” Loki shouted and ran after the man. “Don’t turn away whenever I’m not acting like you want me to. I’m not a robot you can control however you wish to!”

“Leave me be, Loki”, Tony answered anger in his voice and walked to the living room. He shut the door behind him and locked it, but Loki walked through the door and stood in front of Tony regardless of the locked door behind him.

“No, I will not leave you in your anger”, Loki said quietly. “Because that anger will grow and it will eat you from inside. I’ve seen it. I’ve beaten it and I know that’s not possible to overcome alone. I want to help you get over it. I’m here for you.”

“No”, Tony laughed, mildly hysterically. “You’re here because of your guilt. You pity me for my loss and try to lessen your own guilt by pretending to care. If you truly cared about me, you would have stayed away when I told you to not be seen.”

“How about what I feel?” Loki’s voice trembled. “Have you ever thought that I might have feelings, too? That I might want something sometimes? That I’m a being of flesh and dreams, the way you are? Do you think coming from another world makes me somewhat emotionless?”

“This is not about you!” Tony shouted and grabbed Loki by the collar. “This is about us! Cut your selfishness and do what is best for us, damn you!”

“My selfishness? Who’s the selfish one here? Who’s the crybaby? Who’s the martyr here?” Loki asked. Tony grabbed his throat, cutting the mocking. He stared right into Loki’s eyes, his eyes glimmering, and whispered: “Not a word anymore. I’m done with you. I thought you had changed after that accident with Pepper. I thought that you were better than your reputation. But you are not. You are just thinking of how to best  _ amuse _ yourself. What are you gonna do next? Find yourself a nice, big, flesh-eating pet that can accidentally eat my head? You don’t belong in this world, Loki. You’re nothing but a monster.”

Loki laughed the best he could while Tony choked him.

“Tony, human beings are monsters worse than Asgardians”, Loki could barely speak.

“So far that I know, you are not even Asgardian, but a monster even in the land you come from. No wonder you were banished, after all you’ve done, both here and where you used to call home”, Tony said with a voice so poisonous it made Loki startle. Suddenly Loki grabbed Tony and threw him on the floor, sitting on top of him, looking down at Tony with hurt eyes.

“That is probably the worst thing you can say to me”, he said, slowly shaking his head from side to side. His voice trembled and was on the edge of breaking. “Tony.. you can’t keep calling me a monster. I know… I know I am one. But that’s not what I want hear from you. Not from the only person I finally thought could love me besides my brother, after my father abandoned me.”

Loki took a deep breath. He smiled a broken smile.

“Look into my eyes, Tony. Do you see my demons there? There they hide. Laughing at me. Mocking me. Reminding me of the mistakes I’ve made. All of them. Every. Single. One. Mistake. And they won’t let it go.  _ A monster, _ they say.  _ A monster, a monster. _ They won’t stop. And I keep hearing that over and over again. I keep seeing my mirror image when I first took my birth form. When I saw my skin turn blue. When I felt the horror and the realization in my heart.  _ I was never loved by the man I thought to be my father. _ I was merely a hostage, a bridge to bring more glory to Odin. I was not the son he wanted; I was always Thor’s shadow.”

Tony swallowed. His head was full of thoughts, his chest felt like burning of all the emotions he went through: pity, shame, sympathy. Loki was honest in his pain. It was not the pain Tony knew, but pain itself was familiar to him as well. He looked into Loki’s deep, green eyes and his heart rate slowed down to normal. 

“Loki”, he whispered. No louder voice could be left out of his mouth at that moment. It felt like all the words were tangled in his throat, he could think of thousands of words, but none of them came out besides “Loki”. Tony tried swallowing the frog away his throat, but it felt like growing until he had to hold his breath.

Loki lay his head on Tony’s chest and listened to the quiet humming from the reactor in his heart. The rhythm was the same in the reactor and Tony’s heart, and soon enough Loki’s heart adapted the same rhythm as well. A peaceful, even rhythm. They lay there, eyes closed, listening to the rhythm of each other’s hearts, when the rest of the tower was in silence. 

Tony remembered a saying, a motto of someone or something like that. He had never thought it anything but optimistic, poetic lines that could be of a song or from a book. Now it came to his mind like a light, soft words that felt like going with the same rhythm as their hearts.

“Live like there’s no tomorrow, don’t be afraid of what will be”, Tony whispered. “Live like your past doesn’t bother you, forget all the shame ‘n’ pain. Keep the present more valuable than the future or the history and you shall be happy forever.”

“That’s annoyingly optimistic”, Loki grinned.

“It is”, Tony smiled. “But it could be true, if we were brave enough to break our chains, chase away our demons and live free in the world we dream of.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "Demons" by Imagine Dragons


	7. Ignorance

> _ “Don’t wanna hear your sad songs, I don’t wanna feel your pain when you swear it’s all my fault.” _

 

The room was already dark, but neither Tony nor Loki made any effort to put on the lights. They lay on the floor, Loki’s head on Tony’s chest, both listening to each other’s breathing. Tony played with a lock of Loki’s hair, turning it over in his fingers.

“I have never asked you”, Tony started with a quiet voice, “why are you doing everything you do?”

“What do you mean by that?” Loki asked with equally quiet voice.

“I mean everything you do. Do you do things for your own amusement or yourself to feel better, or do you have someone you’re always trying to impress or protect?”

Loki let out a small laughter.

“That question makes no sense to me. Don’t we all do things for ourselves in the end?”

Tony was confused by the question.

“There are people who do things simply for the sake of others feeling better”, he said.

“No. Even then they do it in the end for themselves. They enjoy it when others have things well, so they make sure everyone around them is feeling as good as possible - to feel better themself”, Loki turned his head to see Tony’s face. “Do you understand? People - both in Midgard and other places beyond - are more or less selfish. Some species are… more selfish than the others, but eventually everyone aims for their own wellbeing.”

Tony didn’t answer that. The way Loki said it made it sound legit and right, even though Tony had not thought it the same way.  _ Or have I? I know people are selfish creatures. But I never thought it’d be that deep in their nature. _

“Why did you ask that anyway?” 

“Nah, it doesn’t matter”, Tony waved his hand. “I was just being sentimental about things.”

“Your sentimentality is going to drive me crazy”, Loki murmured. “Or kill me, that would be just as likely.”

“Have you always been that negative or have you grown to it?” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Look who’s talking, mister sunshine. Were you always that negative, or did it come with the reactor in your heart?”

Tony laughed.

“That hurts, you know”, he said. “I’m not negative. I’m just being realistic.”

“I’d call you a pessimist rather than realist, but however you like”, Loki closed his eyes. “Besides, do you think your question didn’t hurt me? The pain goes both ways, so we’re even now.”

“Are we?”

There was bitterness in Tony’s voice that Loki thought would never go away. He sighed and got up on his knees to see Tony properly.

“We’ve been this through already. Let it go, Tony. Let the past be. You said so yourself. The present is more valuable than the past or even the future. That’s why it’s called  _ present _ ”, Loki spoke with a soft voice, never taking his eyes off Tony’s.

“Well, aren’t you sweet and philosophical all of a sudden”, Tony made a face. “Forget that I ever brought this subject back up. I know we’ve both been hurt, several times in our lives, no need to say that again. And don’t be mad about me not being over her yet. I’m not that heartless to forget her just because of you happen to be in my life.”

Loki stared at Tony quietly. Tony seemed annoyed, maybe even a little bit embarrassed, but not regretting.  _ Not that heartless to forget her just because I’m in your life, huh? _ Loki thought, but didn’t say it out loud. He was quiet for a long time, just staring into Tony’s eyes, studying every emotion that could be seen in them. Lots of confidence, a trifle of annoyment, a slight bit of embarrassment, some love and something that probably was sentimentality or sorrow. They were sometimes hard to be separated by looking into someone’s eyes. But surprisingly there was neither hatred, disappointment nor emotionlessness in Tony’s eyes. He seemed strong despite his pain, caring despite knowing whose fault his pain was. It was somehow impressive. 

“Would you like me to make you forget her?”

The question surprised Tony. Loki seemed serious about it, and that made Tony startle.  _ I’m not letting you inside my head. _

“No”, Tony answered quickly.

“Are you sure? I could take the pain away. I could hide it, so that you would forget her and feel yourself whole again”, Loki suggested.

“Don’t touch my brain. I don’t want to forget her”, Tony whispered. “I don’t want the false relief of ignorance you would give me. It would be all lies. Besides, I am whole. There’s nothing missing in me.”

“What filled the hole she left in your heart?” Loki tilted his head. Tony stared at him for a moment and then turned his face away.

“I won’t say it.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t need to.”

“But I asked about it.”

“And I decided not to answer”, Tony turned his face to meet Loki’s eyes again. “Not answering is always an option as well.”

Loki laughed.

“Well, yes, if you’re not being controlled by someone”, he said.

“You wouldn’t do it”, Tony raised a hand to touch Loki’s chest as if he was trying to push him away.

“I could, but I won’t”, Loki nodded. “Don’t be afraid of me, Tony. I won’t mess with your brain as long as you don’t want me to.”

Tony smiled.

“That’s good to hear”, he said relieved, and let his hand fall down. 

“You still don’t trust in me, do you?” Loki studied Tony’s eyes. A slight grin spread on Tony’s lips. He rose up leaning to his elbows, tilting his head so that their lips almost touched. Loki smirked as Tony whispered him the answer:

“Not a slightest bit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "Ignorance" by Paramore


	8. War

> _ “Will you please show me your real face, draw the line in the horizon, ‘cause I only need your name to call the reasons why I fought.” _

 

“Mr Stark, you have a phone call”, the part-time secretary knocked shyly to the door of Tony’s office room. He rarely used that room, but today he had decided to look at some paperwork himself. Usually he let Pepper deal with the papers, but now that Pepper was gone, he had had no inspiration to teach all of it to the part time worker. 

“I’m busy”, Tony answered, looking at a paper in his hand and comparing it with the file open on his computer. In his other hand he was clicking a mechanical pen open and closed, filling the room with uneven  _ click clack  _ noise.  _ Why do people still use paper to print stuff on it? Damn this is annoying. _

“I think you should take this call, sir”, the secretary said quietly. “They’ve been calling you all morning. This is the seventh time they are reaching for you. They say it’s urgent.”

“Fine”, Tony threw the pen somewhere in the room. It hit the wall and fell on the floor, rolling somewhere unseen. The secretary swallowed and looked at Tony.

“I will connect the call to your office phone”, she said and disappeared. A few moments later the phone in the office room rang. Tony sighed, grabbed the phone and answered it.

“Stark industries, the god himself on phone”, Tony answered dryly.

_ “Good day, mr. Stark, this is Reynold Ardems from Stardust Events. I’m glad to finally contact you in person. I have a request I wish you would help me with.” _

“What would it be? Fixing a system that bugged after you accidentally disobeyed my instructions?”

_ “No, actually, I have no failure systems to fix. I would ask a favour. Or, maybe this could be called a job, I will pay you generously if you help me out. I have a convention coming up this weekend, and one of my main stars just cancelled his participation. I need a new guest of honour to take his place. You would only need to hold a speaking program of approximately one hour, take part in a panel discussion about alien activity in the United States and have an autograph --” _

“I’m not interested”, Tony interrupted loudly. The person in the other end of the phone seemed to lose his cool.

_ “No, wait, mr. Stark! You will have all your expenses paid, including travelling, meals and staying in a five star hotel-” _

“Thank you for your interest in me”, Tony said louder. “Please contact me on a better time again.”

_ “Wait, I-” _

“Goodbye.”

Tony pressed the red button to finish the call and dropped the phone on his desk. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the silence for a moment.

“Well, that wasn’t too nice a call, was it?” Loki’s voice made Tony open his eyes. The Asgardian stood there leaning on the wall, looking at Tony, smiling lightly. Tony sighed aloud.

“Can’t say it wasn’t”, he said. “I’m just sick of dealing with people. Everyone is asking something of me, and I just need a holiday. A long holiday. Maybe one that I would never return from.”

“What did this one want, then?” Loki asked.

“My attendance in a convention. Some programs and signatures and stuff that young adults like. Fun, but exhausting job.”

“So, you refused?”

“I’m tired”, Tony sighed, closing his eyes. “It feels I’m fighting a war alone. Everyone is attacking me with phone calls, visits, requests and invitations… it’s exhausting in the end. I wish I could disappear… just go live on some island where they have never heard of Stark industries, Avengers or aliens. Somewhere far, far away…”

“Maybe even in a different universe?” 

Tony opened his eyes and stared at Loki.

“There is an island in a world near to Asgard”, Loki said, looking down at his own feet. “There’s just a small village, and they know nothing of different worlds or what is happening outside their little island.”

“Why do you tell me this?” Tony asked.

“You talked about an island you would like to go to.”

A short silence. Loki looked at Tony in the eyes.

“You mean we would run away?” Tony knit his eyebrows. Loki shrugged.

“Well. Maybe. I just mentioned that there is an island I know that would fit your description. I said nothing about going there”, Loki said with a tone so obviously pretending to be innocent that it was almost comical. “But if you want to.. we could go there. You and I. No one in either Midgard or Asgard needs to know. No one would know if we went there.”

“How would we get there?” Tony shook his head. Loki smiled mysteriously.

“It’s not the first time I’ve travelled between the worlds without anyone, not even the gatekeeper, noticing it”, he quietly stated. Tony leaned forward.

“Could you take us there? You and me?”

“Just tell me when we are going”, Loki winked. Tony stood up.

“We’ll leave in an hour”, he said and walked out of his office. “Prepare to never come back.”

Loki smiled and followed Tony with his eyes.  _ I will, _ he thought and walked slowly towards the room that had been his these past months.  _ It was a pleasure living in Midgard. But that time is over. It’s time to move on. Together. _

Loki walked around the tower, visiting every room he had been to, looking around and smiling to his memories. 

“Loki! Are you ready to leave?”

Loki smiled at the top floor couch for the last time.

“Yes”, he whispered and turned his back for the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote: "War" by Poets of the Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Quote: "Safe and Sound" from The Hunger Games Soundtrack by Taylor Swift


End file.
